Buckeyes have to rebound from BG loss

A shocked look followed the Ohio State women's basketball team off the Value City Arena court following Sunday's 64-52 loss to Bowling Green.

The Buckeyes (5-2) hadn't lost to a Mid-American Conference opponent since Eastern Michigan topped a Beth Burns-coached team 70-58 on Dec. 12, 2001. The Falcons dominated, holding OSU to 12 field goals. That was one more than the all-time program low of 11 that occurred against another Burns team at Rutgers on Dec. 1, 1999.

The game concluded a marathon three-game weekend for both teams in the Basketball Hall of Fame women's challenge. Bowling Green coach Jennifer Roos said afterward that she would never put her team through another regular-season grind like that one.

Her players, however, worked through the fatigue to get the prize that they wanted - a win over in-state giant Ohio State.

"When you listen to our starting lineup being announced, it's Alexis Rogers from Cincinnati, Jill Stein from Tiffin, Jillian Halfhill from Canfield, Erica Donovan from Toledo and Miriam Justinger from Sylvania," Roos said. "So these kids have been brainwashed about this 'Scarlet' color for a long time growing up. There was extra motivation having an all-Ohio lineup come out today for sure."

The Buckeyes looked a step slow throughout the game. They seemed to have found some momentum after Darryce Moore scored inside to cut the deficit to 37-35 with 14:26 to play. The chance to slay Goliath motivated Halfhill to score the next seven points to retake the momentum for her team.

"The seniors looked at each other and said, 'We've got to get this lead back,'" Halfhill said. "Then we just went on a little tangent there. It was good."

OSU coach Kevin McGuff acknowledged that his team was tired.

"Yeah, we were," he said. "But both teams played three games in three days. So it was the same for both teams. We had major letdowns. Whereas Bowling Green kept playing through their fatigue. Any run that we made, they just kept doing their thing."

McGuff switched up his starting lineup prior to game. He moved power forward Darryce Moore to the center spot and put Ashley Adams on the bench. Moore, however, picked up two fouls in the games first three minutes. The offense started what would become a game-long sputter.

"Darryce could have had a real advantage around the basket and she gets two quick fouls," he said. "That hurts us. And then, they're really kind of packing it in (defensively)and trying to take away driving lanes. We just didn't have the patience or the discipline to execute in the manner that would break them down and allow us to get the shots that we needed to get."

McGuff still trying to figure out rotations for the team, which is why he moved Adams to the bench.

"We just really stagnated on offense," he said. "I think we're still searching for the right combinations of people to play together. So we'll continue to do that. I'm not tied to any particilar lineup to start the game or the half. It could be game-by-game, based on matchups or who is playing better in practice."

He understands that he is coaching the biggest target in Ohio.

"I told the team that," McGuff said. "If you grow up in Ohio, Ohio State is a big deal. That is the burden that we carry. And we have to make sure that we respond to it. Today, we didn't."

Bowling Green opened the tournament with a loss to Marist. The Buckeyes beat the Red Foxes and brought a streak of 12 consecutive wins against the Falcons into Sunday's game. Overconfidence, he said, should not have been a part of the outcome.

"If we start doing that, we're really going to find outselves in a lot of trouble," McGuff said. "We have a chance to win a lot of games. But we're not going to overwhelm anybody just by showing up and stepping on the court. Our kids have got to make sure they understand it."